Archive for the ‘Free Software’ Category

Porsche to recall 22000 cars over emissions software – BBC News


BBC News
Porsche to recall 22000 cars over emissions software
BBC News
Last week it was announced that VW subsidiary Audi would be offering a free software upgrade for 850,000 diesel cars across Europe, some 600,000 of them in Germany. That leaves close to a million other cars to be included in the new refit plans.
Germans find illegal software in Porsche model, order recallWinnipeg Free Press
Germany recalls Porsche Cayenne models over emissions softwareStreetInsider.com

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Porsche to recall 22000 cars over emissions software - BBC News

Best free (and low-cost) video editors used by the pros – Komando

In attics and garages across the country, there are boxes marked "VHS Tapes." Back in the day, families would shoot hours and hours of Christmas mornings and ballet recitals, Grand Canyon vacations and grade school birthday parties. Few of these video tapes were ever watched more than once, and they were all exiled to some dark corner of the house.

Digital video changed all that. Thanks to "nonlinear editing," regular folks could upload their footage and chop it into a coherent short film. Families no longer had to fast-forward to the "good parts." An aspiring cinematographer could take the best clips and arrange them on the editor, adding titles and music.

Still, editing software can be expensive. The cost of Final Cut Pro has dropped considerably in recent years, yet the $300 price tag may still scare a lot of people off. Avid and Premiere use subscription services can get costly over time.

Click here to learn how to edit your videos like a pro.

Unfortunately, YouTube is dissolving its online editing service. But you'll find plenty of other inexpensive options for chopping down your masterpieces.

So what kind of editor can you get for free (or on the cheap) that still gives you impressive movie-making tools? You might be surprised how impressive these programs can be, especially for the amount you have to spend on them.

For millions of amateur filmmakers, iMovie was the software that made video editing seem possible. The platform has always been simple and welcoming, and each version is more versatile than the last. You can piece together any kind of movie on iMovie, but the program also boasts a range of handy templates, so you can make a trailer, a vacation roundup or even a narrative film without needing to know very much about video. Better yet, Final Cut Pro X was modeled on iMovie, so if you're feeling ambitious, you can easily export your iMovie project into FCPX for fine-tuning. The downside: While iMovie is free, it only works on iOS.

If you're wondering what Lightworks can do, check out "The King's Speech" or "The Wolf of Wall Street." Lightworks has been used for so many major Hollywood films, it's hard to believe the software is free and available for anyone to download. Lightworks is another miracle of Linux programming, placing powerful tools in the hands of everyday people, regardless of their computer brand or operating system. If it's good enough for Martin Scorsese, it's good enough for pretty much anybody.

Like the YouTube editor, WeVideo empowers you to edit your films online. There are some drawbacks to this kind of platform, but if your projects are generally shorter and your Wi-Fi signal is strong, you'll love being able to instantly access your work on almost any device on the planet. Understand, WeVideo is ideal for schools and workplaces, and you won't mind shelling out $4.99 per month if you only need to export 30 minutes of video every four weeks. But if you're looking to produce longer projects with unlimited volume, the annual subscription costs quite a bit more (just under $100.)

Filmora is already a beloved video editor, with powerful features and lots of nifty effects. The suite is pretty simple, so almost anyone can figure it out, but it's powerful enough to turn out some sophisticated films. Meanwhile, there's FilmoraGo, a separate free version designed for mobile devices. If you're the kind of filmmaker who likes to shoot and edit from the comfort of your phone, this is one of the sharpest products available.

Not sure about FilmoraGo? Click here to learn about Magisto, another great mobile editor.

If you're looking for top-tier software, HitFilm Pro has earned its stripes, even if the company hasn't been around very long and doesn't have major motion pictures to its name. (We expect it will.) But HitFilm Express is free and fun to use, and the company takes pride in its 180-plus visual effects, such as lightsabers, futuristic computer displays and shotgun blasts.

Adobe Premiere is an industry standard, and editors routinely use this heavy-duty software to assemble feature-length Hollywood films. Not long ago, Adobe changed its business model, taking the ultra-expensive Premiere and turning it into a monthly subscription service. (Projects can be saved to a cloud.) But if you're looking for a simpler version of Premiere for a one-time price, look no further than Premiere Elements. This package gives you all the most essential Premiere functions without all the bells and whistles, which may make your projects even easier to put together. It isn't free, but for around $60, you'll get every feature you'll ever need.

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Best free (and low-cost) video editors used by the pros - Komando

Kaspersky Free antivirus software headed to India in September – Digit

After a year of testing, Kaspersky Lab has finally started to roll out the free version of its anti-virus software globally. Called Kaspersky Free, the software is being rolled out in phases and should be available in India sometime in the later half of September. The company notes that the free version will not compete with its paid versions as those versions offer a bunch of extra features like Parental Control, Online Payment Protection, and Secure. However, the free version will offer basic protection features such as file, email, and web antivirus, automatic updates, Self-Defence, quarantine and more. The company also notes that while Kaspersky Free is based on the same technologies as the paid versions, the software is lighter and faster than them.

Eugene Kaspersky, the companys founder said in a blog post, Last year the product successfully piloted in the Russia-Ukraine-Belarus region, in China, and also in the Nordic countries (thats Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, in case you were wondering). I say successfully that would be an understatement; for with practically zero promo activity Kaspersky Free was installed several million times, in doing so cranking up our market share considerably. Not that increasing market share is our aim; our aim is to raise the overall level of protection on the Internet. Anyway, heres thanks to all Kaspersky Free users for helping us save the world!

The launch of Kaspersky Free should come as welcome news to anyone looking for a free antivirus service from a reputed company. We've already seen two major attacks on a global scale in the form of WannaCry and Petya and this new software should help people sleep a little more peacefully at night.

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Kaspersky Free antivirus software headed to India in September - Digit

Over 2000 Massachusetts taxpayers billed incorrectly due to software error – The Boston Globe

John Warren is an Enrolled Agent, photogaphed here inside his Medford office. Enrolled Agents are federally licensed tax professionals who are allowed to represent taxpayers before the IRS for audits and collections.

Around 2,100 Massachusetts residents received one of those chilling notices that says you owe the taxman some money. But it turns out to have been a false alarm.

After receiving calls from confused taxpayers and tax preparers, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue said it found a fault in a commercial software program called TaxAct that some professionals and individuals use to file returns.

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The program had incorrectly coded payment vouchers from those customers to 2017 instead of 2016, so their checks were applied to the wrong year.

A DOR spokeswoman said the agency received payments from fewer than 50 taxpayers, all of whom should receive a refund by next week. The 2,100 affected taxpayers will also soon receive a letter to let them know that the issue has been resolved, although the spokeswoman said many had already learned of the mistake by calling into the agency.

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John Warren, president of the Massachusetts Society of Enrolled Agents, said he began hearing of the problem last week from members.

We found out about it by just networking with each other, and taking the initiative to contact the right person at DOR, Warren said.

The DOR spokeswoman said that the mix-up was due to human error: Upon receiving the specifications for state forms to prepare its program, TaxAct put the wrong year in the barcode, and the DOR did not catch the mistake when the software was reviewed.

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In a statement, TaxAct said it became aware of the problem on Monday through the DOR. It added that 5 percent of TaxAct filers in the state were affected .

We have a good working relationship with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and are working quickly and diligently with them to rectify the situation. We apologize to those impacted for the inconvenience and concern this has caused, and we will be contacting those filers impacted, TaxAct wrote.

The issue affected a relatively small portion of the approximately 3 million taxpayers in the state, but may make some question the accuracy and security of software like TaxAct. Last fall, Massachusetts decided to forgo its free online tax-filing system and encouraged residents to use commercial software programs. It joined the Free File Alliance , which offers software such as TurboTax for free to people with an income of less than $64,000. Only 2 percent of Massachusetts residents had used the states own system, and officials said at the time that commercial software is more secure.

But in 2015, Massachusetts and Vermont withheld almost 170,000 tax returns to investigate potential identity theft and fraud for taxes prepared through TurboTax. The company temporarily suspend its filing program because of suspicions that identity thieves were filing false returns using stolen identities.

TaxAct itself said a small number of accounts were affected by a data breach in late 2015, according to SC Media, a tech-industry publication. The next year, problems with TurboTax and other software was thought to cause up to 19,000 Vermont residents to pay less than what they owed the state government. H&R Block and Intuit, which makes TurboTax, paid nearly $2.5 million to the state tax agency to cover the arrears of their customers.

Amy Pitter, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Society of CPAs, said national tax software companies tend to wait to the last minute to get updated versions of their programs approved by local tax authorities, which can cause problems for tax preparers. While the TaxAct issue seems like a minor fluke, Pitter said Mass DOR should have been able to detect the mistake.

The more you have automation, the more you need to put in checks to make sure the automation doesnt run away with itself, Pitter said.

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Over 2000 Massachusetts taxpayers billed incorrectly due to software error - The Boston Globe

The price of free software? – Kokomo Perspective

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. The two Bears players representing the offense who met the media Wednesday at the start of camp are the two most important on the team this season.

They also werent even in the picture at this time last summer, and will be receiving more attention than they ever have in their football careers.

Jordan Howard and Mike Glennon will be two of the focal points all season long, and it starts with camp. John Fox reminded us Wednesday that no one was talking about Howard at this time last year. He was a fifth-round pick then and the third-string back. Glennon was in Tampa Bay as Jameis Winstons backup quarterback, and now hes the Day One starter something Ryan Pace reiterated multiple times for the first time in his NFL career.

I think its just what Ive dreamed of my whole life, to be a starting quarterback in the NFL and to enter the season as that guy, said Glennon. Its what Ive worked for; Ive prepared for it ever since I was a kid and all the way through college and into the pros, to get to this moment. So its going to be a great opportunity.

When practices get underway Thursday, Glennon will be under the microscope as an unknown commodity to Bears fans, and as someone who will have to fend off any conversation about No. 2 pick Mitch Trubisky.

Glennon knows that itll be natural for observers to compare his play in Bourbonnais to that of Trubisky, a feeling hes quite familiar with from his previous football stops.

Ive dealt with plenty of situations in my past where theres comparisons, dating back to when I was in college and Russell Wilson left, people were comparing us all the time, he said. When Jameis got to Tampa, I was dealing with a similar situation. I know thats going to happen but I dont really pay attention to it. Within the building, within the organization, were just trying to get better as a team. Hopefully Mitch improves, I improve. Competition makes us both better.

Pace would not get into any hypotheticals regarding a potential quarterback controversy.

Glennons here for a reason. We evaluated him over the years. Were very confident in him, he said. Glennons our starter and were confident with that.

Howard doesnt have to look over his shoulder, he needs to set his sights on continuing to be the go-to guy in the Bears offense.

I dont feel any extra pressure, said Howard, who worked on his speed this offseason and cut his body fat from 15 to 13 percent. Im just going to handle it the same way I did last year take it one game at a time, keep the same mindset. But the running game can definitely help out the quarterback, especially a quarterback thats new into the offense. But the running game can also help with the play-(action) pass. So I can help him do better.

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The price of free software? - Kokomo Perspective